Method of making hinges



April 16, 1935. J. T. ATWOOD METHOD OF MAKING HI'NGES Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNlTED tST-ATES PATENT OFFICE 1. y

' 1,998,301 .ivmmon OF MAKING HINGES James T. Atwood, Rockford, n.

Application projection welding, the'projections forthe weld-' ing operation being left on the blank in a punching operation, in which theedges of the blank at the end to be curled are cut away fortheaccome modation of the plates which are to form the cover flanges. According to the present inven.-' tion, the body'portion of the outer hinge mem ber is in the form of a blank cut from bar stock rolled to the desired cross-section, whereby to provide an enlarged end portion in which a hole may be provided for the hinge pintle and inwhich recesses may be milled to accommodate-the knuckles of the inner hinge member, a single cover plate being welded to the upper edge of the blank by means of projections struck out or extruded preferably from the body portion of the outer hinge member, along the edge thereof, from the inner side. In that way the metal for the welding projections is derived from the body portion without any expensive operations being involved and in such a way that the smooth external surface of the body portion remains unchanged.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan view of a covered joint hinge, the outer member of which is made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a view indicating how the cover plate is arranged to be welded by projections to the body portion of the outer hinge member;

' Fig. 4 is a view of the body portion of the outer hinge member taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section similar to Fig. 5 but showing the plate welded to the body portion;

Fig. '7 is a bottom side view of a cover plate of a modified or alternative construction in which the projections are formed on the plate instead of on the body portion of the hinge member, and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5 indicating how this plate is arranged to be welded to the body portion.

swam, 1932, Serial No. 631,545

1 Claim. (01.- 29 11) Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views. V

The hinge comprises an outer hinge member .I G and an inner hinge member I I fastened by screws to the door frame l2 and door l3, respectively.

Both hinge members have the main body. portion provided by a blank cut. from bar stock rolled to the desired cross-section, the general shape in longitudinal crosssectionof thelouter hinge member being evident in.Fig.; 4. The outer; hinge member is milled out on the inner face thereof at the enlarged end [4 at the two points l5 to provide knuckle recesses; =aicircular milling'tool beingused and suflicientstock being left at the end of the milling operation to provide a cover l6 for each of the recesses. The recesses are of sufficiently larger radius than the enlarged end of theinner hinge member II to afford ample operating clearance when the knuckles of the inner hinge member are received in the re-' cesses l5 and connected with the middle knuckle l1. Needless to state, there are two knuckles on the inner hinge memberwhich when entered in the recesses IE will have a close working fit on the ends of the knuckle ll. While a three-knuckle hinge is shown, it will be evident that the number might be different. The hinge pintle indicated at l8 has a drive fit in registering holes in the knuckles of the inner hinge member H, and a close working flt in a registering hole I9 provided in the knuckle M.

It is desired to provide a hingeof this construction with a top flange or cover plate as appears at 20 in Figure 1, to cover the projecting portions of the hinge members for protection against dirt and water, as well as to make for neatness in appearance. The top flange or cover plate prevents dirt and water from getting into the pintle bearing and interfering with the easy operation of the hinge. In winter time where the presence of water might mean the freezing together of the hinge members, it is evident that it is doubly important to give the hinge this protection. I am aware that stamped sheet metal hinges have been made providing a top flange or cover plate by forming the flange with the body portion from a single piece of sheet metal, but the objection to that sort of construction is that the body portion is then necessarily of as light weight material as the flange, and is accordingly weak and apt to bend out of shape under the shocks and strains of service. Other constructions have also been proposed in which the flange was provided as a separate part formed up fromsheet-metal in a special way to be fitted over the end of the on of a plate 20 of sheet metal. It is a problem j to weld the plate to the hinge member without affecting the external appearance, and this is met by striking out or extruding a. series of projections 2! from the innerside of the hinge member at its outer end, these projections reaching sufliciently above the plane of the edge of the hinge member, as appears in Figs. 3 and 5 to serve in the fastening oi the plate to the body member by projection welding. Such welds are indicated at 22 in Fig. 6. The'projections are, of course, instantly fused and-the metal caused to'blend with the metal of the plate,- the slight burr or flash formed in the welding being usually not sufficient to: project to any serious extent, if at alL-from the cavities'in the body portion resuiting from-the forming of the projections. I It is usual to applypressu're on the plate up to about four thou'sa nd-pounds during the Welding operation and thus insure-a tight joint.- The plate is accurately located withfthe hole therein in proper alignment-withthe pi-ntle'hole [5 for- 0bvious reasons. After the welding'operation, the outside of the hinge member is ground smooth, and in that way the outer edge of the plate I! is made absolutely with theoutside of the body member and'all trace of any actual joint between the plate and body'member is obliterated, so that the resulting flange 28 appears to be an integral part of the body member;

While I have described above the formation of the projections 2| on the body member, it will be evident that these projections may be formed on the plate instead, inwardly spaced from the outer edge thereof so that after the weld is made, there will be nothing to show on the outside of the hinge. For that reason, I have shown in Figs. 7 and 8 a series of projections 2| on a plate 20" struck up by means of a chisel or other tool sufficient to permit welding of the plate to the body member by projection welding, similarly as in the other form;

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of all of the objects and advantages of my invention. The following claim has been drawn so as to afford a degree of protection commensurate with the improve- -ments described.

1 claims V The method of producing a cover flange on an outer member of a covered joint hinge, which comists in taking a previously forged, straightedged, hinge member which has been machined to provide smooth internal knuckle recesses and bearing surfaces t'o'receive the knuckle portions or an inner hinge member, and taking a sheet metal plate member previously formed to fit on the knuckle of the hinge member with the outer edges of said members in registration, then raising projections from the straight edge of the hinge member by forcing a die into the machined surface next tothe straight edge to form internal recesses adjacent the projections, so that theoutside surface is left unmarred and the projecinons are in inwardly spaced relation to the aforesaid registering outer edge, then placing the plate member on and. in register with the hinge member, and by the application of pressure and simultaneous passage of electric current, welding the plate member to the hinge member at the projections and forcing projected metal back into the recesses so that the plate makes a closed joint with the hlngemember.

JAMES T. A'I'WOOD. 

